The Luo Pan

The Luo Pan - Chinese Compass

The Luo Pan is used to determine the flow of Qi and the orientation of buildings, rooms and furniture.

The Luo Pan is circular (symbolsing heaven), made of wood and set into a square board (symbolising earth).

In ancient China, Chinese astrologers use the compass facing the equator i.e. in a South direction.

Please note that the direction as read from an ordinary compass are not affected in any way and you must not reverse the `reading'.

Don't worry if you do not have a Luo Pan, an `ordinary' Western compass will do.

Points to note when using a compass to find the north point of a site or house:

1. Obtain an layout plan of the home or building. Make a copy of this layout and bring this along with you to a site survey.

2. Keep at least one metre from columns, beams or walls. Do not wear any `metallic' jewellery as this may also affect the compass readings.

Preferably use a `larger' compass which has a higher `mass' and less prone to `magnetic interference' from it's surrounding.

3. Take a second reading outside the house, preferably on a empty piece of land to establish the north point. If there is a 15 to 20 degrees difference, do confirm another reading.

Sometime back, I surveyed a home which was above a kilowatt generator room; the compass reading inside the house deviated as much as 22 degrees! In such a situation, use the compass reading taken outside the house. If I were you, I will not buy this house.

4. Hold the compass level with the floor and face the direction being accessed.

5. Turning the Luo pan wheel until the magnetic compass needle aligns with the red line beneath the needle. For the ordinary compass, align to the North direction.

6. Read the compass when the needle has settled and when there is no movement of the needle.